Broken
by Karkahn
Summary: A routine sweep of a HYDRA base finds the Avengers more than they bargained for. What have they done to put Loki in such a state and how are they going to calm down an enraged god? Inspired by a prompt on NorseKink, eventual FrostIron
1. Chapter 1

I own absolutely nothing. Inspired by a prompt over at NorseKink~

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Tony Stark is many things. He's one of the richest, if not _the_ richest, men in the world. He's a playboy of proportions that could potentially make Hugh Heffner jealous. He's a genius of nearly unparalleled intellect. He'd successfully privatized world peace at one point. He's developed the worlds first and only clean energy source. He's Iron Man and works along side some of the greatest, if not _the_ greatest, heroes in the world including a Norse God. It's safe to say that it takes a lot to surprise Tony Stark.

Storming HYRDA's newest base of operations isn't a surprise, neither are the young men serving as the newest cronies. What is a surprise is when the hall around them begins to _evaporate_, which would have been bad enough if they weren't underground. But no dirt begins to rain down on them, not as a bone chilling cold rolls over them and Thor bristles knowingly.

"Be wary my friends." The Thunderer warns gravely, his grip on Molnijr tightening as he raises the hammer defensively. "These are the icy winds of Jotenheim."

No one is thrilled by the announcement, each of them tensing and ready for whatever frost giant is going to come at them, they've all heard enough of Thor's drunken tales of home to know that if a Jotun is coming for them the battle will be long and bloody. But what appears at the end of the hall, enveloped in a storm of chaos and cold _rage_isn't one of the blue giants that the god has rambled about so many times.

Tony swallows hard as Loki takes a step towards them, one of his hands holding the ankle of a young man, dragging him along like a broken doll. And how broken he is, judging from the deep, bloody streak he leaves with each slow step the trickster takes, and how desperately Tony is trying to ignore the way that it's just fucking _disappearing_behind him like the building around them.

"Brother?" Thor booms in surprise and Tony wishes that he would shut up. They've all seen Loki angry, each of them has been at the brunt of it at least once, but none of them have ever seen him like this. Not this cold, not so deceptively calm that it makes even Steve shudder a little and when the god turns those sharp green eyes to Tony he suddenly feels so very _small_ and _young_. He feels as if Loki is looking through the suit straight into him, like those ageless eyes are going to tease his soul from his body and then crush it, just to prove that he can.

"Brother, what is this madness?" Thor demands and Tony isn't sure whether he wants to weep in relief to have the tricksters attention drawn away from himself or if he wants to hit the Thunderer and drag him off. Every alarm in his head is screaming, demanding that he run, that he flee this dangerous creature that is staring at _god _like he's nothing more than a toy to play with until it breaks and thrown away.

It takes a moment for Tony's brain to catch up, to analyze the scene before him, and really, it should not have taken nearly so long for him to realize that the God of Mischief and Lies is all but naked before them, with only a few scraps of leather clinging to him and it does absolutely nothing to preserve Loki's modesty. He's holding the HYDRA agent in one hand but the other is curled tight around a scrap of metal, twisted and warped in his fist with a little light still blinking feebly in the storm of magic and rage that is still eating away at their surroundings.

When Loki looks at them, fully gives them his attention, his eyes are no longer green, but white, pure energy and madness roiling off the god. He doesn't even open his mouth and Tony feels something in his brain _break_ when Loki's voice echoes in his head. "Run little mortal."

Just like that he's gone, taking off out of the base and his sensors are telling him Clint isn't far behind, the archer favoring distance over close ranged fighting and no doubt he remembers enough of his first encounter with the mad god well enough that he does not want to stick around any longer. Steve and Natasha last half a second longer than either he or Clint did before they also make a break for it.

There's no dramatic explosion behind them, no implosion of dirt and wind and dangerous chemicals. The building just ceases to be. One moment it's there and the next it's gone and so is the landscape that had surrounded it, the mountain that had been hiding it now sheared cleanly into a plateau. Thor is still there, staring at his brother in what Tony assumes is sadness and between one blink and the next Loki is just gone, like the building, like the mountain, he's just no longer there with no fanfare or warning. The body is still there though, left on the stones like it just wasn't worth being taken any further.

When they get back to the tower no one speaks, the trip back had been equally silent, no one knows what to make of what had happened, a routine event had turned into something completely unexpected. Even Thor seems unnerved by it.

This is a side of Loki none of the mortal Avengers had seen before. Sure they've seen the trickster stand toe to toe with the Hulk once or twice but he'd never come out of those situations the victor. After what they'd just borne witness to though, it give Tony the feeling that the god has been playing with them the entire time, like he could have swatted them out of his way long ago if he'd really wanted to but instead they had _amused _him and so he had let them stay to watch his toys dance a little longer before he finally broke them.

It's hours before any speaks, and it's no surprise when it's Thor that starts them off.

"Something troubles my brother." He announces and Tony is fighting the urge to roll his eyes unsuccessfully.

"Really, big guy?" He demands incredulously as he gets up to fix himself another drink. "What was your first hint? When he made a building disappear? Or when he was dragging around a dead body like a little girl with her favorite doll? Maybe it was when he cut off the top of a mountain, that was my favorite part!" Tony will firmly deny there's something hysterical creeping into his voice, and if there is, well, it's the scotches fault because he hasn't stopped drinking since they got back and he's not planning on stopping until his body forces him to.

Thor is frowning deeply at him and Tony will be damned if he's going to apologize because he's more than a few sheets to the wind by now and fuck, he almost got killed by a god today, may as well go two-for-two and make it a matching set. "I have not seen my brother in such a state since the death of his son." The words are heavy and quiet, and shit if they don't terrify Tony. Because if it takes his kid getting killed to make Loki go that nuts he sure as hell doesn't want to know what HYDRA did to him.

He wants to comment, but something in the back of his mouth tastes suspiciously like bile and scotch and Thor is opening his mouth to continue, to explain further. Tony isn't sure he really wants to know any more than he already does and is thankful when a pale hand seizes the Thunderer's jaw and forces it shut. Too bad that pale hand is connected to one God of Mischief.


	2. Chapter 2

Wow, I didn't expect so many hits, favs and tracks in one day! I'm pleased as punch so I cranked out the second chapter for you all as thanks! Really, you all made my day!

I still own nothing :(

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Tony wants to run, to hide away because Loki is standing in the middle of his living room holding his brothers mouth shut like it's the easiest thing in the world and Thor is _letting_ him. That just makes it worse in his opinion, because Thor never lets anyone shut him, he's loud and boisterous and so happy all the time it's like having a ridiculously strong puppy around all the time. But he's sitting there, placid as he stares up at his younger brother, brow furrowing and an expression of hurt, emotional, not physical, on his face like he's only just realized he said something he shouldn't have.

Judging from the look on Loki's face that's exactly what has just happened. Like the Thunderer's drunken rambling on his him, his stories had often been related to the trickster as well, telling the Avengers tales of their childhood, trying to convince them that really, Loki was an okay guy, you just had to have grown up with him to know that he's just a little misguided and crazy. Apparently Thor believes he'll grow out of his crazy soon.

Tony doubts it.

He wonders just how badly Loki would snap if he knew the stories his brother told them while under the influence of every liquor in the house, especially apple schnapps, which he informs them is because it reminds him of home they all know it reminds him of _Loki_. No one has the heart to call Thor on it, not since that one time a drunken Clint had and they'd found out that while the god was happy sober he could easily become a depressed drunk when it came to his family. After that... well, no one called Thor on anymore.

They're all tense, waiting for the two brothers to do something, anything other than stare at each other, no one wants to draw attention to themselves yet, not after that little display earlier. Tony's just about to down the rest of his scotch and take one for the team before Loki stared holes through Thor's head when the trickster released the blond and straightened up. Tony doesn't want to admit how glad he is that those poisonous eyes are still on his brother.

"We will speak." The trickster announced and Thor frowned but nodded in agreement, waiting for his brother to continue but he says nothing. It's a full minute before Clint begins shifting uncomfortably in his seat, eyes flitting about the room, no doubt finding the best escape route and Tony's never been so glad that Bruce was down in New Mexico on SHIELD business because by now there's no doubt that he would have hulked out just to relieve the tension in the room.

"Privately." Loki grates out and Thor's eyes light up in understanding. It's a bad idea, Tony thinks, to let the Thunderer just lead his manic little brother through the tower, through the Avengers base of operations, but he's not going to be the one to step in their way as the trickster is lead from the room, back stiff and shoulders rigid, so tightly controlled it makes Tony wince and take another drink in sympathy. Not that he really needs and excuse to drink more, but the small justification puts his mind a little more at ease for only a moment.

As soon as the pair disappears the room explodes, Clint and Steve are both rounding on Tony like it's his fault that a god has elected to just appear in their midst and drag his brother off for a chat. Natasha is looking murderous, but at least her gaze is fixed on the door the duo disappeared through rather than on him. Steve is ranting about security breaches and that it was something that Tony's systems shouldn't have allowed, that Howard's wouldn't have if he'd been the one to design them and that strikes a nerve. He's just set his jaw, heard his teeth grind and is about to respond, to shout at the super-soldier but then Clint is yelling, cutting Tony off before the words can even form, ranting and raging about the lunatic in their midst and despite everything he can't blame the archer for being so unhinged when it came to Loki.

In the middle of Clint's ranting JARVIS is informing them that Fury is on the line, that he wants them to come in for a debriefing but the message is cut off by a roar of rage down the hall that puts them all to shame.

Lightning is lancing from the dark clouds that hadn't been there a few minutes ago, either the storm had been quietly brewing for a while on what had been a sunny New York day, or Thor was pissed beyond pissed. Tony would bet the contents of his entire bar it was the latter not only from the yelling in a language he can't understand that rattles the windows while thunder crashes and lightning lashes against the side of the building and the power flickers for a moment. His other hint is the sound of whatever door that had separated the brothers from the hall crashes into the living room, taking a chunk of the wall with it before the thuds to the floor and skids to a stop. Plus side, the brief power failure has ensured they don't have to talk to Fury yet.

Thor is stomping his way into the room, all but dragging Loki with him, twisting the younger god this way and that, apparently checking him for something, though Tony isn't going to be the one to guess for what. He winces a bit when he hears the tricksters neck crack loudly as Thor jerks his brothers head up roughly, inspecting his neck before seizing his coat and begins to all but tear it from the smaller man who is now squawking indignantly and shoving the Thunderer away, righting his clothing and giving him a venomous look the moment he's free of the other gods grip.

"Gonna explain why we're getting an impromptu strip show, big guy?" Tony asks as he leans back on the marble top of the bar, for once without a drink in his hand because, well, at this point it's booze or dirty thoughts because if he drinks much more he's gonna end up on the floor. Though Loki might put him there himself with the look he's giving Tony and that thought really doesn't help his situation at all since it brings a catty grin to his lips.

That might have been the wrong thing to say though, because now Thor's attention is on him instead of his little brother and the look on his face is darker than they've ever seen before. "You will refrain from speaking of my brother in such a manner!" The blond god is growling, sounding every bit the deity of thunder as it crashes dramatically overhead. Tony has no choice but to hold his hands up in surrender and instead resorts to thinking his decidedly suggestive comments instead.

Steve is clearing his throat, getting to his feet and straightening his shoulders, posture stiff and screaming authority as best as a man in a spangly outfit can, which is a surprising amount. "Thor," He begins gravely, waiting until the god finally turns to him and for a moment it almost seems like he'll lose his nerve because they haven't seen the Thunderer like this before, panting, face red and obviously restraining himself as he all but crushes his brother to his side with a burly arm around his waist. Surprisingly Loki doesn't argue, his face screams boredom and Tony swears his body language is more relief and token resistance than anything.

"Thor," Steve says again, steeling himself for a fight he knows is coming, "He's our enemy. He can't be-" A growl cuts the captain off and if anything the blond is holding Loki tighter until the trickster gives the slightest of winces and prods Thor sharply in the arm until his grip loosens enough for him to breathe properly.

"He is my brother and he has been wronged. He will stay." There's no room for argument in his voice, and even Tony hesitates for a second, because they've always known that Thor had a soft spot his brother and right now he's completely the over-protective sibling, glaring down at them all like he thinks that _they_ are going to hurt _him_. Tony can't help but laugh at the thought, prompting a glare from Natasha and he knows she thinks him drunk. She's not entirely wrong.

"Thor." Steve's tone is warning and it's Loki who sighs and looks like he'd rather be anywhere but in this room. "He can't-" The captain is cut off again and they can see the aggravation on his face but this time it's the trickster who huffs loud enough to make him pause.

"Enough of this nonsense. I have informed you only out of courtesy, Thor." Loki snaps, all but wrenching himself from the Thunderer's grasp and in the space between one blink and the next he's across the room, straightening his coat out primly. "Our games will have to wait until later. I suggest you keep your mortal woman with you if you do not wish her to be caught in the casualties." And then he's gone, just... fucking gone.

Tony is pretty certain that his science loving brain his just broken in his head. He's a man who likes neat, tidy, _normal_explanations for everything in the world. Explanations that do not involve a building disappearing around them while leaving them intact. Explanations that do not involve the tops of mountains dissolving into nothing. Explanations that do not involve gods and magic. So far today Loki has taken everything Tony Stark knows and loves about the world and thrown it on its head and left him to pick up the pieces of his own shattered mind after.

He needs more booze if he's going to deal with Steve's kicked puppy look because no one was really giving his authority the attention it deserved and with the irritated faces Thor is making at where his brother had been standing before he decided to fucking _disappear_. Clint and Natasha are both looking at each other, a silent conversation between assassins in a language even he will never understand. Then JARVIS decides to brighten their day further and informs them that Director Fury is on the line again and he's not happy that they hung up on him earlier.

Yeah. Tony's going to need a lot more booze.


	3. Chapter 3

I am so very sorry for the wait, and for the fact that is a shorter chapter than the other two, I promise I will make up for it in the next! It was a very long week, lots to do and little time to write and I felt bad making you all wait, so a tiny chapter to tide you all over until I get the next up in the next couple days!

A huge thanks again to everyone who's been reading and reviewing, alerting and faving! To date there are 67 alerts and 28 favs, I'm thrilled that so many are watching and reading! Thanks again!

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Fury tries to call them in, wants a debriefing but no one feels much inclined to move. They stay seated, staring at Thor who is still by the window, staring outside while the storm continues to rage. Tony's sense of self-preservation leaves much to be desired, so it's an unwritten rule that he jumps into the deep end feet-first.

"You want to tell us what just happened?" He asks, leaning on the bar and doing his best not to wince when there's a dramatic crash of thunder a moment later.

"Many of my brothers... cohorts..." The Thunderer is choosing his words carefully and that only serves to make them more worried. "They learned of some of his history." It's not a full explanation and leaves much to be desired, and judging from the deep frown on Thor's face, whatever they learned wasn't good.

"And?" Surprisingly it's Steve that prompts him, all perfect blond hair and muscles and good intentions. "What did they try to do?"

They can smell it, ozone and thunder and static electricity rolling off the god at the window as he sets his jaw and takes deep, calming breaths. "They wished to use him as a broodmare."

The silence is deafening, suddenly the raging storm makes sense. Both the one Thor is causing, that's crashing down on the city, lashing angrily out at anything the lightning can reach, and Loki's calmer rage that wrecked a mountain and slaughtered a base of people. Steve's eyes are wide, as if he just can't quite wrap his mind around that idea, staring blankly at Thor.

"But... Loki is a man." The super-soldier finally forces out and the god is unimpressed as he returns his blank look.

"He's a sorcerer." It's Natasha that pipes up, looking pale in her seat, thoroughly appalled by the idea of what had been suggested. If that's what their enemies did to their allies... "If the norse legends are to be believed he's had children before. Birthed them himself." She mumbles, looking unusually uncomfortable where she sits beside Clint. "We know some of his names, Liesmith, Silvertongue, Wordsmith, but some call him..." She trails off, pursing her lips and looking away.

Tony can't blame her, as the only woman on the team the Black Widow faces some impressive slurs from their more uncouth enemies. He doubts she's ever had kids, Natasha just doesn't seem the motherly type, but out of everyone it seems that she can empathize with the proposed situation better than any one else in the room except Thor.

"Mother of Monsters."

It's Clint that says it, barely a whisper, like it's something he doesn't want to explain and now Steve seems to understand, righteous fury bringing color to his face and he looks at Thor, as if the god is going to tell them where his crazy, angry little brother has run off to so Steve can go and comfort him properly. Like all Loki needs is a nice hug to cure the crazy.

Tony circles the bar, digs a fresh bottle out from beneath it and begins setting out glasses for all of them. "I think we all missed something big here." He says and all eyes are back on him, exactly where they should be in his mind. "What did Loki mean when he mentioned your game?" And that gets everyone's attention back where it should be, focused on the issue at hand that they have a vengeful god on their hands, one adept at magic and who has no qualms with murdering anyone in his way.

For his part Thor seems almost ashamed, the storm quieting outside slightly. "Loki and I are brothers. We argue often. This is not the worst of our fights." He says simply and Tony feels his jaw drop.

Thor has got to be kidding him. He just has to be.


	4. Chapter 4

So I know I promised a quick update before, but it seems that my brain took a holiday and went off to live with the wolves for a bit. Luckily it came back and brought a new chapter with it~ :D

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Days pass with little events, a cold front has swept through a large portion of Europe and Wales got buried in snow, a pretty strange occurrence for mid-April but they can't do anything about it. Weather is one of the few things that the Avengers can't battle short of sending Thor in to cause a thunder storm but the Thunderer has flat out refused every time someone suggests he go find his brother. Fury was, well, furious, but even his yelling hadn't swayed the god in his decision.

As much as they want to blame him no one can. Thor won't go into the details of his discussion with Loki so the team only has the bare basics, but it's enough that they won't be surprised if the mad god of mischief rips the Eiffel Tower out of the ground and proceeds to beat down Paris with it. As it is though, aside from the strange weather that they only suspect him of being responsible for, they've seen neither hide nor hair of Loki.

After an extremely uncomfortable meeting with the director of SHIELD Bruce has been recalled from New Mexico, though he's yet to arrive, and the Avenger's are on constant alert for so much as a kid skinning their knee, just incase that's how Loki's quest for revenge is going to start. Natasha and Clint are nearly inseparable, when they're not training they watch for signs that anything is amiss in the world. Tony doesn't think the tv has played anything but the news since they got back from the HYDRA base.

Tony doesn't know where Steve and Thor have shut themselves up at, and really it doesn't matter much to the billionaire who has settled into his workshop and diligently makes his modifications to the suit. He doesn't know when they'll have to face off against Loki, but now he knows they can't hold back when they do. A hysterical part of him has no idea how to even go about combating an honest to god _god_, because now he's seen what happens when Loki gets serious, and Tony isn't sure all the technology in the world could help him if he needed it. That doesn't stop him from trying though.

He's been down here for hours, tinkering and toying with the designs of the MK IX when a wave of cold air washes over the back of his neck and Tony doesn't even try to repress the shudder it draws from him. The hair on the back of his neck is standing up and he swears he's being watched but stubbornly refuses to turn, if he can't see it then it's not there right? Too bad his mouth didn't get that memo.

"You know you can use the door, right? Or are doors below your godly status?" He snarks without looking up, spinning the three dimensional schematics around to pry at them, if only to keep his fingers busy for a few minutes.

Loki doesn't reply as he leans over Tony, his fist is closed around that scrap of metal they'd seen when they invaded HYDRA, but the little light has stopped blinking now. This close Tony can see it clearly for what it is, a collar woven of materials he can't place by sight alone and despite its twisted form he can see the remains of runes carved intricately along the surface.

"You will tell me what this is." The trickster breathes in his ear and everything in Tony Stark is screaming to run. Even Loki's breath is cold as it washes over his cheek.

"Collar. Used a lot in bondage." He says simply and is rewarded with a cuff to the back of the head. Apparently the god isn't in the mood for his smart-ass remarks. He knows what he wants, details, schematics, everything he can potentially find out about the twisted scrap that's laying on top of the table. "Magic collar, for really kinky bondage. Erections that last way longer than four hours." Tony offers instead and the Loki gives him a withering look.

"Of the mortals I have encountered you are the one I can entrust with this task." His voice is liquid honey in Tony's ear as strong fingers curl over his shoulders, holding him in his seat as the god's lips just brush the shell of Tony's ear. Even through his shirt Loki's hands are cold and he's shivering again, but now it's for an entirely different reason as the god's breath fans over his ear and down his neck. "Your knowledge of Midgardian science will provide me with aid. Work quickly, Anthony Stark. I will return at dawn." He promises and releases him.

When Tony turns the workshop is empty. If not for the collar still sitting on the table he would have thought it a bizarre dream. He knows he shouldn't, that he should sound the alarm and alert the others that Loki has invaded them again and worse, that he's charged them with a task. Instead Tony begins analyzing the collar, because he wants to know what it does just as bad as the god who'd left with him. He assumes from the runes, and the material that proves to be of an unknown origin that it had been used to cage Loki, contain his magic and make him malleable to his captors desires.

Once he realizes that Tony doesn't dare hand it over to SHIELD and it might very well be their undoing, but it's not like it can be replicated anyway. The metal is something not found on earth and none of the Avenger's save Thor know anything about magic, and the Thunderer would be the first to admit he's not much a sorcerer. Under normal circumstances Tony wouldn't have hesitated to put it on Fury's hands after a thorough analysis of the collar, but Loki has broken free of it's influence once and he's not too keen on the idea of getting on the god's shit list right now.

The night comes and goes in a blur of number and schematics and true to his word, when the sun begins to peek over the horizon Loki is in Tony's chair, hands folded primly in his lap and legs crossed at the knee as he watches the engineer expectantly.

"What do you have for me, Anthony Stark?" The god demands softly and Tony longs desperately for a drink as he perches on his own work table and scrubs a hand over his tired eyes.

"Not much." He admits, turning the twisted mass over in his hands and shrugging. "At least not much that you probably don't know. The metal isn't anything from earth and I don't know magic." Tony informs him but Loki doesn't move from his chosen seat.

"And the rest?" He asks, a brow arching delicately and Tony knows he's been caught. He'd hoped that Loki hadn't taken notice of the circuits running the length, most of them broken and fractured now with the abuse it had suffered.

Swallowing hard Tony makes himself comfortable, looking over the god for a moment and noting for the first time that Loki looks as tired as Tony feels. He's pale and drawn, dark circles staining the flesh beneath those vibrant green eyes watching him expectantly. "Best I can figure, a perimeter, if you'd gone outside a certain area while it was active it probably would have either released a charge to subdue you or explode." Tony finally says and pretends he doesn't see the ways Loki's lips thin and his gaze flickers from the inventor's face to the device in his hands.

When a pale hand extends to take it back Tony doesn't even hesitate to return it. He knows it would be foolish to try and keep it, and is once again reminded to stay off Loki's list of People Who Need To Be Murdered. "Is that the best you can offer me?"

"Besides a glass of scotch and silk sheets?" Tony responds, mouth on automatic and the look he gets from the god is stony and irritated. It's then that he remembers what Thor had told them earlier, about what Loki had been abducted for and he realizes that he probably shouldn't be making even vaguely flirty remarks at him and Tony's been making snarky sex jokes all night.

"I'd guess it's Doom's work. Magic and technology, that's kind of his thing, right?" Tony finally says, he's not going to apologize, hell he's sure that the words 'I'm sorry' don't exist in Tony' Stark's vocabulary. "I don't know where he got the material though."

"I'm already aware of where it was acquired and who gave them the knowledge for the enchantments." Loki revealed, steepling his fingers and looking over them at Tony critically. "Thor informed you of the purpose I was taken." It's not a question and Tony only nods once. The god of mischief scoffs quietly and for the first time he averts his gaze from the mortal. "I should have known better than to inform him."

"Did any of them actually..." Tony trails off, unsure of how to put his question. What was the tactful way to ask if someone had actually raped a god. From the small smirk that crosses Loki's lips at his obvious discomfort the god knows exactly what he's trying to ask but he's not going to answer until Tony gets the whole question out. "Should we start planning a baby shower? I bet Thor would be ecstatic to be an uncle." Tony asks instead and the grin falls from Loki's lips.

"No." He said simply. "Two were successful in making an attempt. The third disrupted the collar in his attempts to hold me down." Loki replied and disappeared in a furl of black and green smoke that smelled of frost and ice.

Tony stared blankly at were the god had been. At least now he had it straight from the horses mouth. Speaking of horses, he was going to need to brush up on his Norse mythology apparently.


	5. Chapter 5

I know this is several months later than I said I would update and I can only offer my most heart-felt apologies for that. I took something of a break from working on the story due to a death in the family and then finding a part time job recently. Suffice to say it's been a crap few months. Seeing the reviews that continued to roll in, the watch and favorite notifications that rolled in were wonderful and I can only thank all of you who reviewed and watched and favorited, who cheered up some depressed days. Thank you and again my apologies for the extended wait.

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The cold front that invaded Europe had decided to take a turn, warping into a blizzard that blanketed more of the continent than should have even been possible. None of the Avengers or SHIELD needed any further indication of just who was behind the strange weather, yet when they entreated Thor the Thunderer was stubborn, resolute in his decision that he would not deny his brother vengeance. No matter how many countries were being buried beneath record amounts of snow and ice. He knows he should, but Tony doesn't blame him.

He had hesitantly revealed Loki's visit to the other Avengers and Fury, though the latter was only because he'd been on the line while Clint had been making snarky remarks about the dark bags beneath the engineers eyes and Steve had begun to mother hen him. Perhaps the reveal hadn't been hesitant so much as a snapped explanation to make them leave him alone. One that had stunned the room into silence for all of five seconds before they'd all exploded with questions at once. Ones that ranged from what the mad god had wanted to demands as to why Tony hadn't attempted to detain him, the last having come from Fury and Tony had laughed the man off the line with just a touch of hysteria.

Unfortunately the snow wasn't the only environmental anomaly. Europe hadn't been the only one getting trashed, and Thor was tight lipped on why the oceans were behaving strangely. Tony had mourned when a tidal wave of record heights had hit Florida, wiping out one of his favored houses and leaving several other people homeless and had racked up quite the number of casualties and fatalities. Coastal towns across the globe were getting thrashed at seemingly random intervals and unfortunately the environment wasn't something they could battle. It didn't help any that the Thunderer was playing dumb, staring blankly at them or flat out denying any knowledge pertaining to the events. The only reason they continued to ask was due to the fact that Thor was an even worse liar than Steve who couldn't keep a straight face in a game of cards.

It takes a week of death, freezing cold and strange waters with nearly the entire world huddling in their homes for things to calm down. The snows abated and the tides calmed enough for people to begin poking their heads out again. Unfortunately that was about the time that SHIELD was contacted by someone, the call had ended too quickly to put a trace on and the static of the video hadn't cleared enough to identify the caller before it had froze, dissolving into a mess of static and what looked like frost on the screen accompanied by a several second loop of a started cry that had made their hair stand on end. When the call had resumed all that could be seen was a tipped chair, marked with a dark red stain and Loki staring blankly at the floor, a familiar scrap of metal clenched in his hand along with a lock of blonde hair. The god hadn't even looked at the screen before the electronics had emitted a shrill screen and the connection was lost.

The fact that there was now a crater where a mountain and a forest had previously resided in Germany hadn't been a source of comfort for anyone.

Neither was finding Thor sitting peacefully on the couch in the sitting room, his crazy little brother stretched out with his head in the Thunderer's lap, eyes closed and looking like he'd gone a few rounds with the Asgardian equivalent of Mike Tyson.

Tony had been heading towards his workshop when he'd spotted the strange scene, Thor munching quietly on a bowl of popcorn while Loki slept in his lap. He knows he should say something, but words fail the engineer as he looks at them and really takes in the tricksters condition, that the normally fair complexion is almost grey, that the bags beneath his eyes make him look more like a raccoon than a man. When he had seen Loki last the god had looked tired, but now he looks exhausted, like sleep was something he had just decided to forgo for a while and had tossed aside his need for personal hygiene with it judging by the greasy look to his dark hair. Even the leathers of his clothing look more worn and the brass of his armor seems a bit tarnished. After a hard swallow he starts to open his mouth but a stern look from Thor makes him snap it shut and when the Thunderer points to the door Tony actually takes the hint for once and backs out of the room.

He knows by now to pick his battles, and as unstable as Loki usually is, he can only imagine what would happen if he woke the trickster unexpectedly.

Tony isn't aware of it, but poisonous green eyes crack open to track his movements out of the room.

The next time Tony sees Loki it's in his shower, which is one of those places that he knows just shouldn't have ever happened. The god hasn't bothered to close the door and water is splashing on Tony's Italian marble, something he's a little unhappy about, but when he opens his mouth to address the issue the words die in his mouth.

Loki is an expanse of pale, wet flesh, a stretch of pristine, ghostly pale flesh on display as he stands beneath the spray. His back is to Tony, but his head is tipped back, thin lips parted in rapture beneath the warm water and acrid eyes closed as the water plays over the sharp features of his face to trail down his neck, running from black hair to bleed down his back and the engineers eyes try to track each droplet.

"Leave." The order if curt and quiet, nearly lost beneath the sound of water hitting tile but Tony hears it and swallows hard.

"Do I have to?" Tony asks before he can stop himself and Loki's eyes open, angling his head to look at the mortal and again the Iron Man finds himself studying the angles and lines of the god before him. For a moment he thinks he's in trouble, that the trickster will force him out bodily, put him through the wall as easily as he threw Tony out his own window. But then Loki's lips quirk just the tiniest bit, a brief flash of amusement at the mortals gall beneath the irritation in those poisonous eyes.

"Leave." He commands again, and this time Tony finds himself complying.

The next time he ventures into his bathroom the only sign of the gods presence was a wet towel thrown haphazardly against the sink and the soaked floor. Tony has Jarvis scan the building and is a little relieved when the AI informs him that the mad god is no longer there.

When asked later Thor simply tells him that his brother had required a moment of rest and nothing more. The shower had also been the Thunderer's suggestion, and while Tony will never utter the words aloud, he's thankful if only because Thor has inadvertently given the engineer a whole new series of fantasies the next time he got bored of internet porn.

Not that he would ever do anything about that. While Tony had happily ignored the old adage of 'Never stick your dick in crazy', Loki is a whole lot crazier than he is willing to tangle with. There's a plateau in the Netherlands and a crater in Germany to attest to that and more property damage than even he can pay for.


	6. Chapter 6

You don't have a several month wait this time, WHAT IS THIS MADNESS? Seriously though, I love all of you who are reading this. Thanks again and love to you all!

* * *

Tony dreams. He dreams of fire and frost, of thrashing seas and biting blizzards. He dreams of pain and betrayal, of green eyes bright as acid and venomous as they stare down at him. He dreams of scorching deserts and explosions that are far too close for his comfort. He dreams of glass shattering against his back and free falling towards the streets of New York.

He wakes with a start, panicked and certain he's going to hit the ground this time, that the concrete will rush up to meet him. Instead he's staring at the ceiling, confused as his brain works frantically to catch up with the waking world.

A calm voice at his side shushes him and cool fingers brush against the side of his neck. The touch is light and gentle, like a snowflake drifting from the sky to skim against exposed skin and melt away. It takes a few blinks before Tony notes that Loki's eyes are more blue than green in the light of the exposed arc reactor glowing from his chest. It takes him even longer to realize that Loki's not supposed to be _here_, not in his bed. And yet the god is settled beside him, the trickster is in Tony's bed and the engineer finds he's more upset with the fact that Loki's still got his armor on than his location at the present time. Something he definitely should not be focusing on, but even in the low light of the moon and the glow of the reactor the bronze glints, perfectly polished and untarnished despite the number of fights that Tony knows it's been through.

"Hi?" The engineer rasps uncertainly, voice rough from sleep and his heart is still hammering against his ribs as Loki blinks and tilts his head, like he doesn't understand why Tony would be the slightest bit unnerved that he's appeared in the engineers room in the dead of night without setting off a single alarm.

"Do you suffer from night terrors often?" The god asks, startlingly loud in the quiet of the night. Tony is certainly caught off guard by the question and can only shake his head. In the engineers opinion it's not a night terror unless he's trying to leap off the balcony in his sleep.

"No. Just weird shit in the world these days. Tsunamis wiping out houses, freak snow storms. Guess it just brought up some old memories." Tony's brain isn't quite awake enough to supply a witty comment, so he's settling for blithe and nonchalant for the moment. At his side Loki seems quietly amused.

The tricksters thin lips have spread into a smirk as he breaths a word that Tony doesn't quite understand. "Jormungandr." At the blank look the mortal gives him his smirk only grows and he chuckles softly. "My son." He elaborates and the engineer gives a soft 'oh'.

They lapse into silence and Tony shifts uncomfortably for a few minutes before he breaks and huffs. "What are you doing here?" He finally demands and the trickster chuckles, like the man has been unintentionally humorous.

"I felt your fear." Loki informs him simply, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "It would have been a shame if you have been in mortal peril. You amuse me." He states and Tony swallows hard. That's one theory confirmed, that the whole world is basically a play thing, caught between two bickering brothers who apparently settle family feuds by breaking entire planets to either irritate one another or bond over.

"Am I supposed to be flattered?" Tony demands, and maybe he shouldn't quite so unimpressed, but Loki doesn't snap, instead those bright eyes flicker to the window, staring out at the skyline.

"Impressed? No. Grateful? Certainly." Loki states and Tony begins to worry he's in trouble, but before he can state his thoughts the trickster vanishes, a dark furling of smoke that he's beginning to realize is a sign of how relaxed the god is. When he's in an almost pleasant mood Loki seems to favor theatrics, smoke and mirrors, Tony thinks distantly. Now he knows when the god is truly angry there's no fanfare, no dramatics, he's brutally efficient with his enemies, breaking one before moving on to the next.

Tony doesn't sleep the rest of that night, sitting up and staring blankly out the window. He doesn't realize how much time has passed until Thor is in the room, watching him carefully, those blue eyes serious and stern as he stares at the engineer. "Your brother was here last night." He finally admits after a few minutes of the heavy silence between them.

"I know." The Thunderer replies and Tony swallows, wondering if the god knows the thoughts he's been having about his psychotic little brother. "You are a lucky man, Anthony Stark. My brother favors few, that you have become one of them is surprising, his dislike for mortals is known well throughout the realms." He states, still frowning, and it's the fact that he uses Tony's full name that sparks a bit of worry in him.

That makes him blink up at Thor though, confusion coloring his features as the Thunderer claps him on the shoulder. "Why hasn't he killed us all yet? If he's so angry why doesn't he just wipe everything out?" The engineer finally puts a voice to a question that's been eating at him.

Thor's frown only deepens further and he seems uncomfortable. "My brother is a powerful sorcerer. Loki understands the balance of the Yggdrasil better than any, save for our father and Heimdall. To destroy a realm would be a devastating offense, he understands this much better now. If not for that and the fact that he has borne many a child here then perhaps he would have destroyed Midgard when he first freed himself. Now it would seem he has also taken a vested interest in you, Anthony Stark, perhaps that will also aid in staying his anger." The Thunderer adds and this time is Tony that frowns at him. Before he can ask his next question though the god gives his shoulder a squeeze and turns to leave. "Come Stark, I desire more of your Poptarts and the toasting machine is misbehaving again."

Just like that they're on a happier topic and Tony can only sigh but laugh as he slips from the bed, snatching up the half-empty tumbler from the bedside table to follow Thor to the kitchen.


	7. Chapter 7

I spent most of my day thinking about this story and obsessively checking my emails for reviews and alerts, not the most productive use of my time at work, but I still got things done today... Seriously though, you've all been making my day an awesome one and I love all of you who have been reading, faving, following and reviewing. I especially love reviews, seriously, the more of those you leave the better!

I've seen this come up a couple of times now, not on this site but the other that I post this to, AO3 for anyone who's curious. It's been mentioned that some bits are vague, that I haven't explained in detail what exactly has happened, and that's done on purpose. I'm a huge lover of anything horror, and have learned that most terrible thing a writer can do is make the reader use their imagination to conjure up the specifics of a scenario. I could paint out a horrific display of the abuse Loki has suffered, but I can't help but feel that it would lose the element of what had been done to him being so unspeakably bad and I'm honestly a little scared that if I did give specifics the narrative would lose quality and the story would get very boring very fast. I'm afraid I've done something quite similar in this chapter, and when you read it you'll understand what I mean. This is once again, because I want the reader to fill in the blanks in their own mind, for now I'm willing to leave you guessing what exactly has happened. Later I'll touch on the subject again and give more of an idea of what was done, but not yet.

A reviewer here, wbss21, has mentioned the like the fact that I don't try to downplay Loki and Thor, and this is a similar sentiment that I've seen on AO3 as well. To be perfectly honest I've been more afraid that it would be the opposite, that I had made the two of them too powerful by putting such a gross difference between them and the rest of the Avengers. Like them part of what really bothered me about the Avengers film was the fact that they took two gods and put them on a level playing field with humans, and yes while they might be super heroes, these are gods, and I really wanted to play with that concept, and seeing all the stunning reviews and the number of people who are reading and tracking this story makes me feel like I'm doing a decent job with it.

I was very nervous about the last couple of chapters because they didn't really drive the plot, they were solely a little interlude of bits of character development while I got back into the swing of writing, and I was terrified that you would all be unhappy that after such a long hiatus I didn't post anything with actual plot content to it. I do try to rectify that a bit in this chapter, the plot is slowly beginning to get moving again, but for the moment I'm still focusing on character development, and the next couple of chapters will most likely be the same.

Also, if anyone wants to actually talk to me, feel free to mention so and I'll PM you with details on how to contact me :)

I'm going to cut off this rambling authors note before it gets too much longer and end this off so you can ready the story. Thank you again and I love all of you!

* * *

They get another day of quiet, and that in itself is surprising considering the havoc that Loki is wreaking. The Avengers have a day of almost peace, watching the news with worried looks isn't a very relaxing past time. Not that Tony would know, after fixing the toaster he had retreated to his workshop and gotten as smashed as he could. Bruce had later complained about the volumes his music had reached in the heights of his drunken stupor, but Tony is resolute in his claim that it had been required and well worth it.

Later he privately disagrees with himself. It definitely didn't feel worth it when Doom makes his move, flooding Manhatten with his bots while the engineer is still a bit hungover.

None of them are certain if Doom is trying to cash in Loki's apparent success in cowing the team of heroes, or if he's just trying to assert himself as the dominate and most powerful villain they've faced, but either way they all have their doubts it would work. That much is obvious when the Avengers assemble begin beating their way through his hordes to get at him and knock some sense into the villain.

Doom apparently disagrees with this assessment if the unprecedented numbers coming at them are anything to judge by.

It feels like hours that they're out there, bashing through robots to get at their master, and eventually even Steve and the Hulk are beginning to wind down, swings getting slower, the shield doesn't hit quite as hard, Tony's diligently ignoring JARVIS' warnings that his power levels are dropping with each repulsor blast, Hawkeye is nearly out of arrows, and the Black Widow has long since run out of bullets and now resorting to purely physical means of bringing down her opponents. Thor is the only one who seems not to be getting tired, thunder rumbling overhead and lightning lashing down with every few swings of his hammer. It might have been cheating a little but Tony's called for a quick charge once already, and he's seriously considering a second despite how his systems warn him everytime he gets struck the god.

At least he isn't sulking anymore though, Tony thinks as he blasts his way through another wave of bots and takes to the skies to shake a few off. It's never good when Thor sulks, he looks like an overly large blond puppy that's been kicked a few too many times. An overly large blond puppy with one hell of a swing on him. No one has been quite certain of the reasons for the Thunderer's poor mood, but it had begun not long after Loki's late night visit, and Tony finds the timing way to convenient to ignore. His best guess is that the trickster didn't visit his brother, but he doesn't really understand why Thor would expect that anyway. Maybe there's just something to their relationship that he can't grasp, but Tony knows that in the past when the two had been put in the same vicinity as one another Loki had puffed up, spitting and hissing at Thor like a wet cat while the other god had given him those kicked puppy eyes he did so well.

But at the moment Thor is not quite sulking, bashing his way through metal and circuitry to get at Doom with a single-minded determination that Tony admires. Or does until he's being wrenched out of the sky, caught and grappled by a bot in his moment of distraction and is toppling into a mass of waiting ones. He expects the suit to be torn apart, and shortly after for his flesh to join it.

Instead a wave of cold air washes over them suddenly, frost and ice creeping along the ground. The bots begin to slow, joints creaking in the sudden cold that's dropping rapidly below zero, and Tony wastes no time in pressing the sudden advantage to blast his way out of them.

Loki is standing at Thor's side, nearly as tall as the Thunderer and fully decked out in the armor that the Avengers have come to see as his 'ass-kicking armor', ridiculous horns and all. The brothers are speaking, too low for the rest of them to hear and Thor doesn't have a headset since it often malfunctions when he begins whipping his hammer around. Whatever it is they're saying, Tony's money is on Doom getting his Latverian ass handed to him from the way the brothers eyes are fixed on him and him alone.

Thunder rumbles ominously overhead and ice is spreading steadily, spider webbing over the ground and Loki is standing in the center of the mass that's rapidly building, moisture in the air is crystallizing, clinging to the suit and the bots around them. It takes only a few precisely aimed strikes of lightning to spread over them, short circuiting the mechanized enemies and dropping them to the ground, most likely pinpointed by Loki, but right now no one is keen on ignoring good advice.

There's still a few stragglers showing on Tony's HUD, and while he doesn't want to leave he guides the rest of the team to deal with them as quickly as possible. When they get back the gods are gone. So is Doom. Tony doesn't envy the man.

Each of them have bruises and cuts to nurse when they grudgingly return to the tower, none of them seem to want to go back, not when Thor is apparently MIA with his crazy little brother, but there's no sign of the pair being around, and Thor is loud enough that they would definitely know if he was still there. So they go back, grumpy and sore and tired, each of them going their separate ways to nurse bruised egos at having been more or less rescued by a crazed trickster god, and physical wounds that need tending to.

Tony's method of tending to both are the same, he picks a spot in the city and goes out for a drink and maybe find a nice young woman to join him for the evening. His tastes run very specific tonight, prowling around in search of dark hair and bright eyes, blue or green or maybe grey, it doesn't particularly matter what shade, just as long as they're bright. It takes a while, but he finds her, in a little bar, out of the way and quiet, and every man has his sights on her, taking in the curve of her hips and the swell of her breasts.

He isn't even sure of her name but he calls her Raven and takes her to his bed that night. She wasn't an easy mark, she might have ended up in Tony's bed, but she makes him work for it, refusing his offers for a drink initially, flirting shamelessly with some of the younger studs who had stared openly at chest, but wealth and promises of a much better night are what eventually wins Tony her company.

And good company it is, her skin is cool to the touch, but smooth and soft beneath his hands, her hair long and untamed, tangling around his fingers when he braces his hands against the bed at her sides and clings to her neck when a warm flush breaks out under skin and a thin sheen of sweat joins it. She's just as strangely cool when he slides inside her, wrapped tight around him, spurring Tony to fuck like he's a teenager again, rutting and gasping as she claws at his back and moans quietly in his ear. He finishes with his face pressed against her breast, gasping and panting, his vision sparking before his eyes, and it's only after all is said and done that he realizes his lack of protection and quietly hopes she's on a birth control of some sort. Tony doesn't get a chance to vocalize his concerns before he drifts off while gentle fingers brush against the side of his neck and she shushes him quietly.

When he wakes it's to the door thumping open and heavy footsteps approaching them.

"Good morrow!" Thor booms and Tony groans aloud.

"Weren't you helping your crazy brother do... whatever it is that he does?" The engineer grouses as he turns his head to nuzzle against the soft chest he's spent the night sleeping on. Except it's not soft anymore, there's no swell of a woman's breast beneath his cheek, but rather the firm pectoral muscle of a man. Blinking quickly he looks up slowly, takes in the ghostly pale flesh and slender neck that leads to the angular face of the God of Lies who is blinking and glaring halfheartedly at his brother.

Thor is giving him a confused look for a moment before the Thunderer begins to chuckle, laughing at the engineers ignorance, and much to Tony's disapproval, he claps Loki on the shoulder warmly before he sets the tray in his hand on the bedside table. Loki apparently isn't in as good a mood since he waves his brother away irritably and stretches slowly, and yeah, he's definitely a man now since Tony can feel every inch of the god pressed against him. He doesn't get long to boggle at the trickster though before the engineer is pushed off him, tumbling unceremoniously to the bed so Loki can sit up properly and turn over, picking over the contents of the breakfast they've been brought critically before he selects the tea sitting to the side and begins dumping liberal amounts of honey into it.

Tony doesn't know whether to be thrilled about Loki's apparent lack of body shyness or if he wants to break down and cry in pure confusion when the sheet slides away from the trickster. In retrospect it probably should have been obvious, this is definitely the kind of thing he could imagine Loki pulling, but Tony is still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that the god could truly switch gender, at will apparently, and had let Tony take him to his bed. He's gaping a little, frustrated and unsure of what to say, because what's the protocol for unknowingly sleeping with a shapeshifter?

Worse is that Tony expects Thor to be upset, but the Thunderer seems unbothered when he sits beside Loki, his back to Tony and reaches for the warmed poptart sitting on the tray.

"I thought a celebration in order after our glorious defeat of the Doctor of Doom yesterday." The Thunderer declares to his brother who merely hums around the lip of the cup he's drinking from. "I see you decided to celebrate with the Man of Iron though." He adds, with a grave look at Tony over his shoulder, and again Loki merely hums, like it's a common thing to turn into a woman and sleep with whatever caught his fancy. "Will you tell me the identity of the others who have wronged you now, brother? You know well that we are a formidable team."

Loki glances up at that, setting his cup aside with a gentle click. "No." The trickster states simply and vanishes in another dark puff of smoke that smells like frost.

Tony pretends not to see the hurt look on Thor's face when he gathers the sheet up and begins to carefully slink from the bed.

"We are friends, Tony Stark." Thor declares suddenly and Tony freezes on the spot. "But if you harm my brother I will feel you break beneath Mjolnir." He warns and the engineer nods quickly.

"Got it." Tony swallows and can't help a nervous laugh. "Mind getting off my pants now?" He asks, indicating to the dark material poking out from beneath the Thunderer.


	8. Chapter 8

Another update? What is this madness?  
Apologies that it's a bit later than intended, I had to sort out my laptop which ended up requiring a format due to some wicked viruses and I've been getting over a slight kidney infection the past few days.

As always, thank you to everyone who has been reviewing and following and favoriting, I love you all!

EDIT: I had no problems with constructive criticism and welcome it actually, what I do have a problem with is blatant abuse with no real feedback. Anyone who decides to leave an anonymous review spouting such things, be assured that I will delete it. I'm not interested in comments that I am "gay" or a "gaybutt" (lol wut?). If you're so uninterested in what I've written then by all means, don't read it. If you feel the need to leave a review stating that you're unsatisfied, please do so constructively and I'll take your criticisms into consideration as the next chapter is written.

Thank you.

* * *

Thor doesn't speak to him much that morning. In fact, he seems a little determined to ignore Tony's existence after he had relinquished the engineers pants, something that he's a little relieved about. He's still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that he had not only slept with Loki but that Loki had been a woman at the time.

Normally Tony's happy to brag about his conquests but he's tight lipped this time, refusing to answer to Clint's little taunts about the dark haired woman he had lead through the tower last night. He's not sure if Loki would care if Tony were to kiss and tell, but the murderous look Thor directs at the archer convinces him to keep quiet. For now.

He has no problem revealing his sexual past, has done so more often than most people are comfortable with, and Pepper had protested a number of times when the engineer had hummed and reminded her of something particularly pleasurable the redhead had done for him. Most memorable was the time he had leaned over her and purred something filthy about her mouth, his own brushing against her ear. Pepper had protested vehemently and ordered Tony out of the room, her face as red as her hair as she had turned back to the board of Stark Industries and began apologizing for his behavior.

Now might not be the best time to be thinking about that though, not when he's walking into the sitting room and finds Thor and Loki already occupying it, the trickster curled against his brothers side as long fingers work quickly, twisting and braiding a lock of blonde hair, winding strange materials into the tresses while the tv plays in the background. For a moment Tony considers leaving, but he's already stuck his dick in Loki once and lived to tell the tale, if that's not an invitation to invade on the brothers alone time, then Tony doesn't know what is. Despite the frown the thunderer casts his way Stark pushes away from the door and drops on the unoccupied end of the sofa, stretching out with his feet in Loki's lap with a relaxed noise and beams at the pair.

The trickster doesn't even look up, just pushes Tony's feet off him and resumes his braiding with quick, dexterous motions that begins to make the engineer think decidedly dirty things about those slender hands. Sooner than he would like Loki is tying off the strands with a small strap of leather and he tosses it aside onto the coffee table before focusing on the screen and resolutely ignores Tony, like he couldn't care less if the mortal is around or not as he burrows into Thor's warmth, head against his brothers shoulder and long legs drawn up beneath him.

After studying the lines of the trickster, the angles and curves beneath tight leather pants and the loose tunic covering his chest, Tony registers what's playing for the first time.

"...Are you watching My Little Pony?" He finally asks, drawing the attention of the gods who both frown at him as Celestia appears on the screen in a flash of golden light. That's when he draws the parallel, a sister who felt abandoned and unwanted lashing out against her world, only to be banished and return after a millenia to fight her sisters friends and suffer defeat, coming out of the battle changed but still deceptively powerful as she cries out for forgiveness and love into her sisters breast.

"My brother likes horses." Thor declares with a hint of warning and Tony snorts despite the fact that he probably shouldn't. Both of the gods give him a look, Thor's unhappy and daring the engineer to comment, Loki's is flat and uninterested. Tony dissolves into quiet laughter at the pair of them and fixes his eyes on the screen as the credits roll for a few seconds before the next episode starts.

He fully plans on ignoring both of them until something soft nudges his cheek and he can see something grey and black and green in his peripheral vision. Leaning away Tony yelps and jumps, tumbling over the end of the sofa to the floor.

There's a pony on his couch.

A fucking pony.

Tony does not approve of this development.

Loki laughs as the soft grey pelt gives way to ghostly pale flesh and he's leaning over the edge, smirking down at the engineer with an air of self-satisfaction. The trickster folds his arms beneath his chin as Tony picks himself up off the floor, grumbling as he shoves ineffectually at Loki to move the trickster from his spot. Loki doesn't so much as budge, grinning up at him from beneath dark lashes and damn does that go straight to Tony's dick. He remembers that look from the night before, Raven arching a brow and smirking around the lip of her glass as Tony had taken her free hand and tried to guide her from the bar stool towards the doors.

Maybe Loki knows what he's thinking about since the god finally shifts, allowing Tony room to sit back down, and once he's settled on the couch the trickster stretches out, his arms folded in the engineers lap and pillows his head on one hand. Tony chooses to ignore the way Loki's legs are in Thor's lap and the thunderer is running a hand gently over his brothers calf. It doesn't seem like a particularly brotherly touch, but Loki doesn't protest and Tony's got the good end on him for the moment so he buries a hand in dark hair and runs his fingers over the gods scalp.

"About last night..." Tony finally says slowly, drawing the attention of both brothers again, but Loki only hums softly as a sign to continue. "You're not going to get pregnant, right?" He asks and the trickster snorts in amusement. Thor seems to relax again after that reaction, his hand venturing a bit higher towards Loki's knee and the trickster twitches away from the touch, a touch irritable judging from the look the thunderer gets and he takes the hint, his palm smoothing down his brothers calf again.

"You've nothing to worry about, Stark." The trickster assures him, poisonous eyes flicking back to the screen as Pinkie Pie begins singing about a gala of some sort and Tony gives up on following any sort of plot, because there's a pink pony singing on his tv, and he's just not into that. Loki is apparently though, he seems to forget the unfinished conversation between them as the ponies dance about. He seems particularly entranced by the unicorns, specifically by the white one with the purple mane that says 'darling' way too much for Tony to like. He's a little surprised by that, the engineers money would have been on Loki favoring the purple unicorn that seems to boast more magical power than any of them, but instead the trickster smiles a little every time the white one appears.

He wants to interrupt, but every time he so much as clears his throat or sniffs loud enough to gain the tricksters attention he receives a scowl and a sharp prod to the thigh that makes him wince, because, damnit, Loki keeps finding the nerve with those sharp nails. Tony settles for scowling at the tv after the fourth time it happens. Thor seems a bit amused by this until the engineer grumbles that he prefers Loki's nails in his back. The thunderer is even less amused when Loki decides that Tony talks too much and catches the mortals mouth with his own to shut him up.

As far as attempts to make Tony Stark be quiet go, this was probably the most effective, he's less concerned with colorful equines and reasons why he shouldn't worry when there's another tongue in his mouth. Distantly he notes that Loki tastes like the air before a snow storm and chamomile tea and honey, though the last are probably due to the empty cup on the coffee table. Just a quickly as it began the kiss ends, not with the trickster pulling again, his mouth is still on Tony's, but he's stopped participating, his eyes on the screen again because that fucking white unicorn is talking and apparently Loki is more concerned with what she's saying than the fact that Tony just nipped at his tongue.

He's about to give up and sulk from the room when Loki suddenly pulls away, pecks his lips lightly, and then settles back in Tony's lap. On the other end of the couch Thor seems to be laughing quietly at his plight. The trickster is unusually cuddly, apparently content, stretched out between the man he's tricked into sleeping with him and his brother and watching a children's cartoon with the kind of devotion the Avengers had thought he used solely for plotting their doom.

Clint wanders in at one point, a mug in hand with something on the side that looks suspiciously like a white unicorn with a blue mane and a pair of sunglasses. The archer takes one look at them, gives Loki a suspicious glare and slowly backs out of the room.

When the credits begin Tony seizes the opportunity to stop Netflix before it can begin the next episode. He's become reasonably certain that the trickster god would end him if he stopped the episode before it was resolved. When sharp green eyes glare up at him the engineer merely shrugs and sets the remote aside. "Want to explain why you're here?" He asks, because it's been eating at him. Tony doesn't think for even a second that Loki has stopped hating The Avengers on the whole, and villains just were not supposed to cuddle up into the laps of the heroes and watch unicorns and pegasi dance around and sing. Yet that's exactly where Loki is and the trickster seems mostly content.

Loki nods towards the braid on the table and reaches for the remote, and despite the danger of potentially getting his arm broken for it, Tony holds it just out of the gods reach. "My previous locations have been compromised." The trickster reveals, and that kind of makes sense to Tony, HYDRA had to have nabbed him from somewhere and if they were going to catch a god, best to do it in a place that he's comfortable and more relaxed, that he won't suspect you of striking from. It explains why he's been hanging around the tower more, why he seems to stay around Thor more especially. No doubt those who had worked together to make that collar have gotten the memo that Loki is out for blood, and after what happened to Doom, they probably know Thor is in on his schemes too and the only thing worse than one god looking to kill you is having two gods looking to kill you.

That brings to mind the questions about Doom, and when Tony opens his mouth to ask Loki holds up a hand to silence him, and when the engineer closes his mouth he holds it out for the remote expectantly. Tony doesn't relinquish his prize though and nods towards the discarded braid, silently demanding an explanation.

"Amora's." Loki says simply and Thor scowls deeply, like the name alone offends him. "She provided what they needed to subdue me. In our last scuffle I managed to come away with some of her hair." The smirk that crosses the tricksters lips is vicious and makes Tony shudder a little. Loki smooths a hand along the engineers thigh, the gesture might be an attempt at comfort, but it doesn't really work, not when the god has that expression on his face.

Tony doesn't withhold the remote this time when Loki snaps his fingers for it, a touch impatient now. When he gives it up Loki immediately passes it to Thor. The gods are focused on the screen again, but Tony's thoughts are wandering, staring at the tv blankly as he realizes that the trickster has taken a hunk of the womans hair and no doubt used it to fashion something for some sort of spell, and he's done it right in Tony's living room.

Needless to say, this idea does not sit well with Tony.


	9. Chapter 9

As always, errors are mine and mine alone.  
I love you all 3

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Tony only manages one more episode before he calls it quits and wriggles his way out from beneath Loki. The trickster hadn't seemed very offended though, he'd simply sat back up to curl against his brothers side once more, entranced by the orange pony vehemently denying that she needs help harvesting an entire apple orchard on her own. Outside the room Tony finds Clint leaning against the wall, listening to the cartoon and throwing the engineer a challenging look when he snickers at the archer.

After that he doesn't see either of the gods for a few days, and it's a few days of relative quiet. The temperature in Europe finally rises, the seas are calm, villains are hiding, and the sun continues to shine. All in all, the Avengers have more or less taken it as the calm before the storm and settle down, intent on relaxing just a little before they have to go beat down a potential threat.

Or they relax until the gods reappear in the middle of dinner. The duo is tired looking, bruised and cut, chunks of Thor's armor is missing and there are rips and tears in Loki's leathers. They both look worn and tired, but despite that, there's also an air of grim satisfaction to them.

Clint scoots away with a dark look when Loki claims the stool next to his, but the archer doesn't open his mouth, not when Thor is taking the one beside his brother and calmly reaches for the store bought roasted chicken sitting in the middle. Neither of the gods speak as the thunderer tears a leg from it and pushes the rest of bird towards his brother, the trickster staring blankly at it for a few seconds before he rips the other leg free and tears into it.

No one voices their discomfort, but it's read clearly on the faces of everyone in the room. Steve looks torn between asking what happened and demanding Loki leave. Clint is looking mutinous, alternating between suspicious glares at the trickster, giving Natasha quietly plaintive looks, and glancing pointedly at the door. Natasha seems to almost not care, quietly picking at her food, but her grip on the knife is a little too tight to truly be so blasé. Tony just wants to know what happened.

The tension in the room mounts when Bruce wanders in and pours himself a cup of tea, dark bags beneath his eyes and he barely registers the two new occupants. Loki takes one look at the pot and voices a quiet request for a cup and their resident scientist complies without complaint, pouring a second cup and placing it on the counter top before he registers that no one else in the tower drinks tea and blinks over his glasses as he finally notes the trickster sitting at the counter, chewing absently on a chicken bone as he pulls the cup over.

"Milk and sugar?" Bruce asks after a second, brow furrowing as there's a sharp crunch of the bone breaking between Loki's teeth.

"Honey." The trickster replies, picking splinters of bone out of his mouth and setting them on the edge of Thor's plate.

Banner nods his approval and retrieves the bear shaped container that is half empty from Loki's previous uses of it, taking the chair that Clint had vacated the moment the scientist had entered the room, if a fight between the Hulk and an already beat up trickster god had broken out there was no way the archer was going to get caught between them by accident.

Tony pulls a face as Loki sucks the marrow from the rest of the bone before he sets that aside as well and frowns at the small bird, like he wants to take more of it but can't decide if that would be rude or not. In the end the engineer gives him what's left on his plate, which Loki accepts without complaint, savaging the meat before he starts picking at the potatoes heaped to the side. The look Clint gives him is one of complete betrayal but Tony merely shrugs. If Loki's occupied with dinner it will distract him from potentially murdering them all over whatever whim might strike him. Or at least that's how he reasons it in his mind and firmly denies that he might actually care a little about the trickster.

"Sooo..." Tony drags the word out as he uses his phone to type out an order online to a relatively close Chinese place for more food. Everyone in the room focuses on him and Tony just grins. "What happened to you two?" He voices the question they're all thinking and the gods suddenly lose interest in the mortals, focusing solely on their respective meals, though Thor has finished his portion of chicken and is ripping more off the bird.

"Amora." Loki says simply as he finishes off what's left on his plate and steals a small piece of meat off Thor's. The action nearly gets him a fork in the hand, the thunderer surprises them all by actually swiping at his brother and driving the metal tines into the counter top, but he misses by a hair and Loki grins at him as he pops the morsel into his mouth.

Everyone but Tony gives the god a confused look but the trickster doesn't elaborate and Thor is pretending to be totally engrossed in his meal. Before they can question him further though Loki claims the rest of the chicken and disappears in a furl of green and black smoke. The others take this as their cue to focus on Thor and press for answers, Tony uses their distraction to slink from the room and retreat to his own. He's not entirely surprised to find Loki on his bed, contently peeling layers of skin and meat from bone and licking juices from his fingers.

"Gonna give me any details?" Tony asks and the trickster scoffs around the finger he's sucking on. Tony's going to take that as the obvious 'no' it is and shrugs as he flops down on his side of the bed. He's not going to press further yet and it's not like Loki is his boyfriend or anything so there's no real reason for Tony to be concerned except to worry about whether or not the god will snap and kill him.

Except Tony is concerned.

The god of mischief and lies is sprawled over his bed, eating his chicken and giving him dirty looks every time he sneaks a piece of it, a god that's bruised and battered, and for perhaps the first time since they had invaded the HYDRA complex, Tony realizes that Loki can be hurt. This is also the point he realizes that while the wounds might not have been physical, the trickster has probably been hurting the whole time, aching and wounded and vicious in his desire for vengeance.

Tony doesn't give himself time to think about it, because if he does he'll overthink it and convince himself that it's a bad idea. There's no doubt in his mind that it's a bad idea. But all the same he leans over and catches the tricksters mouth between hungry mouthfuls. It's not the passionate open-mouthed, devouring kisses he had shared with Raven, or the attempt to make him be quiet that the god had used before, but a brief, closed-mouthed gesture that might be understanding and sympathy as much as it is a sign of concern.

Loki's stiff even after Tony pulls away, eyeing the engineer critically like he's waiting for the catch. That thought makes Tony's chest ache a little, and when he leans in this time Loki is leaning away from him, bristling and unsure.

"It's okay." Tony tells him quietly, like he's trying to calm a skittish animal. The trickster doesn't seem convinced that it is, he doesn't even seem sure he knows what the mortal is referring to, and truthfully Tony isn't even sure what part of this whole fucked up situation is okay. But he's going to find part of it that is, and he's going to convince the god of that fact.

Cautiously he takes the plastic tray holding the last stray bits of meat and bone from Loki and sets it aside, then Tony is reaching for the trickster, running his hands over torn leather and tarnished bronze, brushing against darkening bruises and angry cuts and burns that are half-hidden. He takes it as a good sign when he's not pushed away, but when his fingers brush against the bare skin just above Loki's collar his hands are seized in an almost painfully tight grip. Dimly Tony notes that the god is restraining himself since he hasn't completely crushed his fingers, but there's something wounded smoldering in those bright green eyes.

Maybe the point of all of this was that it had all been on Loki's terms, Tony hadn't pushed previously, had never truly initiated any contact between them, maybe that had been some unspoken rule he hadn't picked up. But Tony knows the hurt is there now, buried beneath layers of stoicism and false amusement, of fake smiles and brutal violence, and it's just not in his nature to let that go. The engineer has that burning need to fix the problem, to pull away the components until he finds the faults in the hardware and replace them, to make it all go away. Perhaps it's just sentimentality, or just something plain human that's been worn down in the trickster throughout the years he's lived, hundreds of Tony's lifetimes, he's not sure, but Loki is still stiff and bristling, staring at Tony like he just doesn't understand him at all.

Loki doesn't push him away this time when Tony kisses him again, nothing more than a brief peck on the lips, but he feels the joints in his fingers grind and protest when the gods grip on them tightens. He doesn't restrain his wince quick enough and realization dawns on the tricksters face as he releases Tony's hands. Loki doesn't apologize, but then, Tony doesn't expect him to either.

The trickster doesn't say anything actually, he's silent and eyeing Tony like he's a very strange creature as he twists off the bed and pads into the bathroom. Loki doesn't even bother to shut the door, and a few minutes later the engineer hears the shower running, but Tony doesn't move.

He's pressed his luck once already and he's not foolish enough to believe that the open door is an invitation. Tony knows a test when he sees one, he knows that Loki is merely assessing whether he'll push when the line has been clearly drawn. This once Tony will respect the boundary that has been put in place and wait for Loki to come to him. Tony hates waiting though, he's the kind of man who likes to get right down to it and get things done. Once Loki's in a better mood, a less dangerous mood, he's going to find a way to get back at the trickster. Maybe he'll tell him that the pony show he liked so much a few days ago got canceled.

On second thought that might be a bad idea.


	10. Chapter 10

Holy shit, timely updates! What the hell is going on here?!  
Seriously though, I love all of you who are reading and reviewing and faving and following!

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When Loki comes out of the bathroom his hair is wet, curling at the ends and clinging to his shoulders and neck and letting stray droplets drip down his bare chest and back. All of him is bare actually, and Tony wants to touch, to map out muscles and angles, to lick the water from his skin. Loki sliding into bed beside him does nothing to curb the desire coursing through him, but the tricksters back is turned to him, and as much as he doesn't want to, the engineer keeps his hands to himself and settles down to sleep with a small pout, because there's an attractive naked man in his bed and apparently he isn't allowed to touch.

He doesn't complain the next morning though, not when he wakes to find Loki curled around him, and while it's new to be the little spoon, Tony finds he doesn't mind having the trickster wrapped around him even though the tricksters nose is cold where it's pressed against the engineers neck. Slowly, Tony turns over to look at the drowsy god, takes in the fading bruises and the healing cuts, he eyes the still pink burn across the tricksters shoulder and barely leashes the urge to run a finger over the marred skin.

The action rouses a sleepy blink from Loki and for a second Tony thinks it will be a repeat of the previous night, but instead the trickster nuzzles against him, his arms tightening around the engineer as he blows out a low sigh and bright eyes slip shut again. The god is loose and relaxed, his legs tangled with Tony's as he begins to doze again.

Part of Tony wants to believe that this is the result of proving himself the previous night, that he's shown Loki that he can be trusted when the moment counts. The other part of him is pretty sure that the trickster just isn't awake yet and is just using him as a teddy bear.

It's probably a bad idea, but Tony decides to take advantage of his good luck, and steals a small kiss, nothing demanding or passionate, but it proves to be enough to rouse Loki properly. The god is stiffening and untangling himself from the engineer, his discomfort is obvious and Tony can't help but frown at it now.

Instead of taking the hint and leaving him alone though, Tony instead runs a hand down the tricksters back, traces his fingers over the wing of his shoulder blade and down the ladder of his ribs, fingers light and gentle when they brush down the line of his spine and the dip of his lower back. Loki is stiff, so tightly controlled that the engineer grinds his teeth just a little and Tony's positive that the way Loki is restraining himself just isn't healthy. Instead of voicing the concern the mortal leans over and brushes his mouth against the back of Loki's neck.

Tony expects a reaction of some sort, for Loki to snap at him and move away, or to be ordered to stop. He doesn't expect for the trickster to turn around punch him. Time seems to slow down, Tony sees the way that Loki's shoulders tense, watches the muscles tighten as he twists around, eyes wild as he draws back an arm, and Tony has a moment where he thinks 'oh shit' as the tricksters fist connects with his nose.

He must have black out, because the next thing he knows, Tony is laying on the bed, blood and tears staining the pillow beneath his head, which aches terribly, and Loki is at his side, grim faced and fully clothed now. The gods hands are cold as they cradle his face, fingers gentle as he prods at Tony's cheeks, feeling along his cheekbones, probably checking for fractures in the bone.

"Foolish man." Loki's voice is deceptively calm, and Tony tenses as the gods fingers glow green, way too close for him to feel safe, but something tingling and cool is washing through his skin, drawing away the aches in his face and leaving him strangely light headed.

"You needed to relax a little. Stop holding everything in." Tony mumbled, blinking up at the ceiling and frowning when Loki's hands slipped away from his face. "You should talk to someone." He adds and the trickster scoffs quietly, like the idea is ridiculous.

"And whom should I speak with Stark?" The god sneers, and despite that shouldn't, Tony feels a little pang of hurt that he's being referred to by his last name. It must show on his face since for a brief second Loki looks like he regrets doing so, but it doesn't last long.

"If you want. Or Thor, he would listen." Tony says simply, like it's the obvious solution and Loki's expression darkens. "If you keep everything to yourself it won't get any better. No one can help you if you're not willing to be helped." He points out, a lesson that he's learned the hard way himself after his involuntary stay in Afghanistan. Not that Tony is going explain that to Loki, the trickster definitely has his own problems to sort right now and he doesn't need the engineers baggage on top of it.

The god seems neither convinced nor impressed by this reasoning.

"Thanks for fixing my nose though." Tony adds quickly. He's not going to apologize for drawing a reaction from Loki, but he'd definitely happy that he doesn't have to explain how he ended up with a broken face to the rest of the team. That seems to make the trickster relax a little though, and he brushes a gentle hand over Tony's cheek and down his face.

"You're foolish." The god tells him again and Tony shrugs, he already knows that, thanks.

Tony opens his mouth to respond, but the words die before they're given life as Loki's mouth fits over his own, the tricksters tongue is talented and insistent as he tangles around his own. It's hungry and eager, and after a second the engineer realizes it's another attempt to make him be quiet. Someday this technique will be a lot less effective, he isn't sure when that will be, but it'll happen eventually. Tony is the king of bad-coping, he knows that Loki is using this as a diversion to get away from being nagged and prodded into doing something he doesn't want to, and really, Tony doesn't have any room to judge him after all the years he's spent on bad alcohol and sex with strangers.

He's giving in, responding to teeth and tongue like an eager teenager, but as quickly as it began it ends, Loki pulls away and rolls to the edge of the bed. He's a bit paler than usual, but instead of being stiff and bristling in discomfort Loki is slumped over, his elbows on his knees and head braced against a palm.

Tony's a bit more cautious this time, his movements slow and careful as he sits up and scoots to the trickster, making sure to let the bed rock to convey his movements, and his touch is initially light when he puts a hand on Loki's back. It doesn't draw a reaction though, and after a few seconds of stillness he finally tugs the god to him, his arms around Loki's shoulders and the trickster doesn't fuss, just settles his head on Tony's shoulder and leans there.

Maybe it's just because Tony already knows, but the god isn't fighting him, he doesn't try to pull away or put on that mask of disinterest, he just leans against the mortal and closes his eyes. Loki doesn't actually do anything, he doesn't cry or whine, he stays silent and seems to simply sag into Tony, like he's tired and nothing more. But Tony takes even that small relaxation as a sign of victory, that he's being trusted in this moment to just let the god give in a little and unwind a fraction.

He may not know for certain what happened with Amora, hell, he doesn't even know exactly what happened when Loki was captive. But Tony knows that if nothing else he's helping provide a safe-haven for the trickster, and that might be doing more for the god than anything else right now.

It's a while before they leave Tony's room, he's not entirely sure how long, but it's more than an hour. When Loki speaks for the first time since the engineer had held him, when he informs Stark that he wants to watch the colorful horses again and eat, Tony doesn't have the heart to tell him no. Not when that stupid white unicorn has actually made him smile before. That's how they end up in the sitting room, Tony settled on one of the sofa with the trickster curled against his side, it's a bit awkward since Loki is taller than him, so the god ends up half-laying over the rest of the couch and half laying on Tony, but neither of them are complaining. Especially not when the ponies sing and dance and they have the breakfast Tony ordered online and delivered spread out over the coffee table and are picking at it leisurely.

"She's not dead. Not yet." Loki says after a while, when the brash pegasus with the rainbow mane is speaking. Tony's come to recognize her as Loki's least favorite, every time she appears the trickster seems to briefly lose interest in the show.

"Who?" The engineer asks, brow furrowing and trying to figure out when any of the cartoon characters have ever been in true mortal danger.

"Amora." The god tells him, chewing idly on a piece of sausage and Tony blinks down at him in surprise. "We had to let her live, she's withholding the information of who all was involved in her scheme." Loki reveals and Tony isn't sure of what to say so he simply nods. The trickster doesn't seem to take offense to his silence, in fact, the god seems to accept that the engineer just doesn't know what to say and just continues to eat his breakfast.

After a while Clint wanders into the room, and as much as he dislikes Loki, it seems his love for ponies over rules that dislike and he settles on a chair as far from Loki as he can get. At one point the trickster says softly, "Rarity is best pony." and while Tony has no clue what the hell that's supposed to mean, it fires the archer up and the pair end up in a long winded debate of who the best character is and why.

Surprisingly it's Bruce that ends the argument, he doesn't even stay to watch the show, he only makes an appearance long enough to bring Loki a cup of tea, something the trickster accepts with a soft noise of gratitude. One that he chokes on when the scientist interrupts Clint's rant about a DJ being better than a unicorn.

"Doctor Whooves." Bruce says simply and both Loki and Clint are staring at him. "Doctor Whooves is better than both of them." He states and leaves the room before the argument can begin again. After a beat of silence Clint mutters a soft "Fuck" and just like that the pair of them are done.

Maybe there's something to this pony show after all. If it can make Clint stop sending death glares Loki's way there has to be some sort of magical power to it.


	11. Chapter 11

Oh god, I know, another update! What the hell is the deal with these daily updates?! I hadn't actually planned on writing another chapter today, but the urge struck and so I sat and wrote. For all of you! Because I love you!

I actually considered writing this chapter from Loki's point of view, but as I dug over all my notes I decided that this one would be better from Tony's perspective. Maybe a later one will be Loki's, what do you all think? Tell me in the comments!

This is the longest chapter to date, and has more plot content than the previous two, I dug around a little and found the plot again, it tried to hide, but I caught it before it could.

As always, I love you all who have been reading and reviewing and faving and following! Reviews are love, so remember to hit the shiny button at the bottom and tell me what you think, what you like, what you don't like, anything you think could be improved on, I want your feedback!

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They spend the morning relaxed and comfortable, Clint remains for a few episodes before he leaves, and while he still glares at Loki as he goes, it's not quite as vicious and unpleasant as it had been before. Maybe, just maybe, the pair has made some progress in mending their extremely fucked up relationship. It boggles Tony's mind a little that it's been done over colorful cartoon ponies though. Thor wanders in at one point and takes up residence on the other end of the couch, watching the cartoon quietly with his brother and occasionally stealing a cold piece of sausage from the table.

The calm air leaves when the call comes in though. HYDRA is finally making a move, forces moving in on the mayors office, and Loki is stiff against Tony's side, eyes staring at the screen without seeing it now. This is not good, this is so not good. The trickster is sitting up, too stiff, too calm, and Thor is getting to his feet, determination in his bright blue eyes as he looks to his brother and opens his mouth, no doubt to make some grand declaration that they'll face the enemy together. He doesn't get it out though, the electronics in the room emit a shrill screech, the temperature plummets and the tv flickers, the picture dissolving to static for a few seconds and the lights flicker briefly. Between the flickering Loki has disappeared.

Tony and Thor stare at each other, the engineer in silent horror and the god in worry and displeasure. It takes a few seconds for them to regain their senses and the pair of them bolt from the room, it proves to be unneeded though, in the amount of time it took for them to get moving and for Tony to put the suit on they're notified that the threat has been neutralized. By Loki. Who's gone and slaughtered the entire mass of agents on his own and abducted the apparent leader of the little group.

Thor is grim faced when he leaves, intent on finding his brother and being part of... whatever it is that Loki's going to the poor man he's taken. Tony gets back in touch with his good friend scotch and begins drinking steadily. By the time Thor returns a few hours later the engineer is more than a few sheets to the wind and he couldn't give a damn that the thunderer is unhappy and just a touch murderous looking.

"My brother refuses my aid." He rumbles, claiming the half-empty bottle of scotch on the table and Tony pouts at having his drink stolen.

"He always does, you can't have _all _of that." Tony complains, reaching for the bottle but Thor is unrelenting and gives him a flat look of disapproval.

"You have had more than enough, Tony Stark." He declares and Tony will firmly deny that he responds with a sulky 'nu-uh!' as he reaches for it again and gets his hand slapped for the effort. The hit is more playful than anything, but it still smarts.

They seemed resigned to having to wait to hear from, well, anyone. The rest of the team has been dispatched to clean up the mess Loki has made of the HYDRA agents, the only reason Tony isn't with them is that he's mastered the art of getting spectacularly drunk in a short amount of time, and when Fury had called he'd been partially plastered. Thor hadn't been around to be assigned to the mission having already gone looking for his brother. So now the two of them are alone in the tower, passing the bottle back and forth and only barely watching a bad zombie movie on netflix.

Surprisingly, Loki turns up before the other Avengers, he looks like crap, but he's suddenly in the room with them. The trickster is leaning against the wall, blood slowly tracking down from beneath the dark hair hanging in his face, streaking down his cheek and there's smears of it along his neck and staining his hands. Whoever the god has been in a fight with has no doubt taken a number of good hits of their own, but there's no denying that Loki has seen better days.

Thor is unimpressed as he looks at his brother, brow furrowed and frowning deeply. "How many more mortals will you slay, brother?" He demands gravely.

Loki is equally unimpressed as he states, "As many as I need to." There isn't a shred of remorse in the trickster and Thor is bristling as he stands, glaring down at his brother as he approaches him. Tony isn't sure he wants to stay in the same room as them, not when Thor is practically murderous and Loki is beaten half-way to hell and apparently isn't going to be taking anymore shit today if the look he gives Thor is any indication.

"I would remind you that this is not the wisest choice of action, brother. Harm your wrong-doers, but a line must be drawn. Leave the uninvolved alone, brother." Thor warns and Loki scoffs.

"The mortal was required to find the one they call von Strucker." The trickster states, and for a couple of seconds the thunderer looks surprised that he now has a name to connect to at least some of the atrocities that Loki has suffered.

"Did you find him?" Thor asks, momentarily distracted. Loki shakes his head mutely, lips pursed and frowning and the thunderer is beginning to look upset again. "Then they did not need to die." He states and the younger god looks viciously displeased.

"They all need to die." He says it like it's the most obvious thing in the world, like the fact that the sky is blue.

Thor disagrees apparently, he's turning red and puffing up and the static building in the air makes Tony's nose tingle and his hair is beginning to stand on end. "I would remind you of Nari, of your thirst for revenge that nearly damned us all, brother!" He snaps, and immediately Tony knows it's the wrong thing to say.

He has no sweet clue who or what a 'Nari' is, but Loki goes still, eyes wide as he stares at Thor, his face is a mix of betrayal, rage, and the blackest hatred that Tony has ever seen on the trickster. Neither of them know how to react when Loki's fist collides with Thor's face. Tony knows that earlier on Loki had pulled a punch with him, if the god had truly meant to hurt him the engineer would probably be dead. Thor isn't that lucky. Tony knows just how difficult it is to actually make the thunderer rock with a blow, but apparently when the trickster isn't holding back he can deal a mean left hook, judging from the way Thor stumbles back a couple of steps, nose busted and bleeding and Loki is seething as he hits him again, and this time he catches the thunderer in the throat.

Tony isn't sure what he's supposed to do, he doesn't dare move for the door, not when Loki is so close to it, but the momentary dilemma is solved for him when the trickster stomps around his brother and seizes him by the front of his shirt. Tony doesn't even get a say as Loki storms from the room, dragging him along helplessly, and he's just a little relieved that Loki has chosen his bedroom to... do what ever it is that Loki is going to do.

"Wait, Loki, what the hell?" Tony manages to demand after the god slams the door behind them, hard enough that Tony winces when he hears the jamb distort and he knows that door is going to be a bitch to open later.

"You will be silent, Stark!" The trickster barks, snarling and pacing like a trapped animal. Loki's raking his hands through his own dark hair, fingers catching and ripping through tangles irritably and smearing over the still bleeding head wound hidden among the inky black strands.

It's a bad idea to respond to that, in fact, Tony's not going to respond to that. Except he opens his mouth and says, "No I won't." before he can stop himself. Not the best of choices, considering the way Loki rounds on him, wild-eyed and murderous intentions practically seething off the god. Tony protests loudly when Loki grabs him, and the room tilts as he's thrown, but it's not the wall that he expects that Tony collides with. Instead he bounces against the mattress of his bed and the trickster is on him, biting his lips more than kissing them and tearing at his shirt.

This Tony can get behind. Everyone needs some angry sex every once in a while, right? But he knows it's a bad idea, and as much as it pains him to do so, Tony is cringing away from the trickster and trying to push him off. It's not that the weight of the god pressing down on him is unwelcome or that he dislikes rough sex, but Loki's already killed people today, he's gotten the crap kicked out of him, and he's broken Thor's nose. Tony suspects, quite reasonably he thinks, that Loki may cause him some serious harm if he doesn't put the brakes on, and it's pretty obvious that this is the absolute last thing the god needs right now. So he does his best to squirm away, manages the words, "No, Loki, stop." between rough kisses, and when he finally wriggles out from beneath him the engineer comes out with scratches on his chest and he can taste copper where the trickster has broken his lip with those sharp teeth.

"_You _would turn down sex?" Loki sneers, sitting back on his haunches as Tony scoots back a little further. "Even if I were unaware of your sexual history I wouldn't believe it. I have felt your interest, Anthony Stark. You cannot lie to the God of Lies." He hisses.

Tony can only nod and swallow hard. "It's not what you want though, not really." He says simply and shrugs. That makes Loki pause though, so point of victory to the mortal, even if it's a point he doesn't really want. He wants to make the trickster feel better, yes, but Tony wouldn't mind having sex anyway if the god is really set on it. Apparently he's not though, Loki folds his hands over his knees and frowns for a moment before he huffs and lays down, stretching out to wrap himself around Tony.

"What happened?" Tony asks quietly when the trickster gets comfortable, his head on the mortals chest and staring at the far wall while Tony wraps an arm around his shoulders, fingers trailing lightly over Loki's arm.

"Amora escaped." The god mumbles and Tony raises a brow.

"And... she beat the crap out of you?" He asks

Loki scoffs against his chest and gives him a flat look. "Skurge is a formidable opponent." The trickster informs him, and okay, when that's pointed out it kind of makes sense why Loki looks like he's been beaten to hell and back. "She took Doom with her." He adds with a frown and Tony can't help but cringe a little.

"Didn't know he was still alive." Tony mumbles, fingers trailing down Loki's arm gently and the trickster shivers against him.

"Of course, he was required for the same reason Amora was. Information. I had hoped he would know of von Strucker's location." The god replies, considerably more relaxed now beneath the light touches as he lays against the mortals chest and revels in the warmth of him.

Tony is quiet for a few seconds before he asks, "The guy in charge of HYDRA?" and Loki hums quietly in acknowledgment. "Why are you after him? Is he the one who..?" He trails off, unsure of how to finish the question, but Loki simply nods all the same.

"The first time, yes. After he failed to impregnate me he demanded his minions try until one of them succeeded." The god mutters, frowning and tense again and Tony winces a little in sympathy.

"You want a shower? Get the blood out of your hair?" He offers, a rapid change of topic and an offer to give the trickster a bit of space that he no doubt needs. Tony's suspicion is confirmed when Loki nods in agreement and climbs off the bed. Tony doesn't know what to say, how to offer comfort or broach the subjects that need to be, Loki's volatile and irritable at the best of times, but tonight he's especially on edge.

In the end Tony dives back into the bottle, drinks heavily from the whiskey stashed in his bedside table until the god returns from the bathroom, damp and nude and apparently uncaring as he climbs back onto the bed that Tony is sitting on.

It takes him a few tries, but eventually he manages to wrap his lips and tongue around the words and force them out, because the question has been eating at him for a while, and it might get him hit, but the curiosity is burning in Tony, demanding an answer. "What's Nari?"

Loki goes still, eyes unseeing for a moment and body stiff. Slowly he relaxes, but it's too forced to be genuine and Tony worries that the god will kill him. Instead the trickster winds his arms beneath the pillow and hugs it to him. "My son." He says quietly and Tony's brow furrows, because that doesn't really explain what happened earlier. "He was put to death, pitted against his brother and killed for a crime I committed. They thought it best I understand the pain of losing a son by watching the slaughter of my own." Loki explains and Tony's heart clenches in his chest.

It's not the safest of ideas, probably not the best of them, but Tony sets the bottle aside and lays down beside the trickster. They're both quiet now, because there's no way that the engineer can even relate to that kind of experience, so he just pulls Loki to him and lets the god use him as a cuddle toy for the night.

Really there's nothing else that Tony can do but try to offer what comfort he can for some questions that were definitely way too personal for Loki to be comfortable with. Silently he hopes tomorrow will be better, but he really has doubts that it will be.


	12. Chapter 12

Fair warning, this chapter is a little shorter than the past few have been and takes a wildly different turn. Where the previous ones have been from Tony's perspective, this one is from Loki's, so there's a much different feel for it. We're finally getting a glimpse into the tricksters head, and things haven't been nearly as happy as Tony thinks they have been.

As always, I love all of you who read and review and PM, I do my best to answer all PM's that come my way, unless there are issues that are addressed in the next chapter ;) If you're looking for a more timely response I can always be reached by Steam or yahoo messenger, if you want my contact details just let me know, I'm always happy to talk to anyone!

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"Does anyone want to tell me what the fuck you think you're doing harboring a goddamn fugitive in the goddamn Avengers tower?!"

The team is gathered around the largest screen in the tower that's currently displaying Fury's face, glaring down at them all with his single eye like an extremely disapproving parent. Or at least it's the team sans Tony and Thor, and it's the directors demand that draws the engineers attention and makes him poke his head into the room.

"Secret meeting in my own house without me?" Tony asks cheerfully, drink in hand as he drops on the end of a couch next to Clint. The archer seems unusually uncomfortable with their proximity. Fury looks like he's bordering on murderous at the intrusion.

"Can you leave for a while, Tony?" Steve asks, though to his credit he does look mildly ashamed at posing the question at all. Tony's confusion must be showing on his face because the supersoldier directs his gaze to the floor and Natasha clears her throat pointedly.

"We're deciding what to do about Loki." The assassin explains and Tony nods slowly. That explains Thor's absence, the thunderer is still sporting some magnificent bruises from his fight with the trickster, but he'll still defend his brother. That doesn't, however, explain why Tony wasn't invited. "You're compromised." She adds, answering the unasked question and the engineer looks more than a little offended by the accusation. He opens his mouth to dispute the claim but Natasha shakes her head, cutting him off before he can begin. "You've spent more time with Loki than anything, he sleeps in your room. We would almost say he trusts you, or at the very least, he trusts you more than anyone save maybe Thor. He killed people yesterday, Tony." She says firmly and Tony frowns deeply. The assassin has obviously struck a nerve.

"They were HYDRA..." He points out, but the rationalization is weak and everyone in the room can see it.

"We were picking them up in pieces. There were over a dozen people, some of them are still encased in ice, the rest were just... scattered. We can't let this continue." Clint says quietly and it reads clearly on Tony's face that he has no argument against that logic.

"How?" The engineer demands after a beat of silence. "We've seen what he can do now, the only one on the team who can stand up to him at all isn't even here." He points out and Natasha's lips thin.

"You can start with removing him from the fucking Avengers base of operations!" Fury snarls and Stark laughs in response.

"You go ahead big man. Tell me how that works out for you because I'm not getting between SHIELD and a pissed off god. In the mean time, any bright ideas on how to get Loki to stop slaughtering everything that crosses his path?" Stark asks, tone bordering on cheerful, but it's obviously forced and Fury is growling at him.

"That is why you need to leave. So we can work out a plan." She looks pointedly to the door and Tony's face goes blank for a second.

Loki clears his throat and every head in the room whips around to stare at him, leaning against the wall and watching them impassively. They're realizing that he's been there the whole time, watching and listening to every word and for a moment he thinks he sees a flash of betrayal in Tony's eyes.

"You're welcome to try. But know you will only have one attempt to do stop me." The god announces simply as he pushes away from the wall to stand behind his mortal, slender fingers brushing against Stark's neck and drawing a nearly imperceptible shiver from him. The Avengers miss it, but Loki can feel the faint shudder of muscle and skin beneath his fingertips. "If you wish for the mortals to live find me von Strucker." He adds, poisonous eyes flicking to the screen where Fury is still glaring at them, and more specifically, at Loki himself.

The directors lips are curling, feral and irritated, and it takes little more than a flicker of will and power as Fury opens his mouth to cause the lights to fade for a moment and the electronics in the room screech in protest as they're forced to malfunction and the call drops.

"You have your task." Loki states, grasping the collar of Stark's shirt and he all but drags the mortal from the room. The Avengers glare mutinously at his back. They'll plot against him, attempt to work out a plan to subdue him. Let them, Loki has given them the only warning he will, and even one is generous by his standards. If they attempt and fail he will kill them all, whether they are friends of Thor or not. Stark is sputtering at his back, demanding answers, to know how long he had been watching, what he had heard, if the killing will continue. Each question is ignored as he guides his mortal through the halls he has become increasingly familiar with.

He has his tormentors quaking, scrambling for any means of defense because now they've seen how easily he can get passed them. Doom will be wary before challenging him again, he knows that Loki can and will kill him next time. Amora will bide her time, regroup and come up with a new plan, she is the worthiest of his current foes. Mephisto is cowering, hiding away after Loki had beaten him down, he will think twice before attempting to contact SHIELD for aid again and the agency still remains clueless of his first attempt, diverted before the call could clear enough to see the man on the other end of the screen who had realized his folly; his role had been small, but Loki will still break him for his involvement. Von Strucker is hiding, a wise choice, but the god will find him, and he will reap his vengeance from the mans flesh, no mortal will defile a god, and Loki will make sure he learns his lesson well before he removes him from the mortal coil.

The Avengers claim Stark is compromised, that he's become too close with the mad god, they're more correct than they realize. Anthony Stark is his and Loki has never shared well. The little ragtag group of heroes has shunned their two best sources of information, the best chances they have of actually bringing Loki to his knees and forcing him to stop his temporary reign of terror. This suits Loki well, he will keep Stark for his own, hold the mortal close and use him for his purposes. The man is well intentioned, but foolish. He believes the god broken, and while Loki can't fully disagree, he's not nearly as damned as Stark believes him to be. Loki will continue to feed him tidbits of information, will continue to reveal pieces of his plots to keep the mans interest and use his connections for his own devices.

Stark is fiendishly intelligent for a mortal, but blinded by emotion and empathy, he pities Loki, rationalizes his atrocities because of the hurdles the trickster has overcome. Loki has long since given up doing the same. His actions are his alone no matter the reasoning behind them. Justified as he is in destroying his tormentors the humans in their employ have no reason to die other than the god wishes them to. The engineer doesn't know how cold the trickster truly is, and Loki will never tell him.

Tony Stark doesn't even realize the role he plays to Loki yet, doesn't know he's merely a piece in an immortal game of chess. Not a pawn, Loki holds him too preciously for that, guards him too well. A knight perhaps, guiding his pieces into play, but never a pawn. Soon he will send his most powerful pieces into battle, he will feed Thor the final pieces of information that will send the thunderer into a rage and Loki will watch his enemies break beneath his brothers might.

Stark is still demanding answers, becoming increasingly irate and the trickster can't help the smallest of smirks as he silences that smart mouth with his own. Tony Stark has many uses, and Loki will be sure to put his mortal through his paces before he breaks him too.


End file.
